To Be or Not to Be
by Bitcheesquared
Summary: Set post 4:07. One shot. Elena confronts Damon about the sire bond and tells him how she really feels. My answer to the moral dilemma that was the latest episode. Please review and let me know what you think.


To Be or Not to Be.

Damon was putting the last of his shirts in his bag when Elena burst into his room.

"Damon, it's not true, tell me it's not true." he winced at the anguish in her voice.

"Stefan said that you sired me, that the reason I can't drink anything other than fresh human blood is because you told me I can't. He says I feel the way I do about you because of your blood turning me. And he told me you knew that this might happen. Is it true?"

Closing his eyes for a moment Damon did his best to push the pain in his heart away. Her words cutting him worse than any knife and the fear in her voice breaking what was left of his heart. Anger swirled close behind, as he thought of how typical it was, that the one thing he'd wanted more than anything and thought he finally had, was now being ripped away yet again, by Stefan.

Whirling to face her, he hardened his heart and met her tear filled gaze.

"What can I say Elena, if Stefan says it's true then it must be." he offered mockingly "But don't you worry, Stef and I are going on a little road trip to find out and if it is true, and if it is, I'm sure Saint Stefan will find a way to fix it. And once that's done, I'm equally sure that he will forgive you, for doing his older better looking brother and you can get on with your sweet happy ever after without me." his eyes narrowed as her hand came up to cover her mouth.

"But let's get one thing straight though, before I leave on this little road trip to hell. First up and I can't believe I'd even have to tell you this." he offered, his tone hard and distant. "If it does turn out that you are sired to me, I didn't know about it and I had no reason to even think that it was possible. So I'm sorry if I made you do or feel things that you didn't want, but I'm not going to apologize for last night. It happened and I can't be sorry it did."

His gaze left hers as he reached for his bag and zipped it up. He refused to look at her again, his head swimming with everything that Stefan had accused him of.

"Did it work? he asked. "Did you keep the blood down?" He tensed waiting for her reply.

"Y-yes... I think it's..."

"Good!" he said harshly, cutting her off. "That's good. And now we know there is nothing wrong with you, nothing that my absence won't fix."

"Wait... what?" she gasped "What do you mean Damon, you are coming back...aren't you? Stefan told me you were just making a quick trip to New Orleans to see a friend of yours, someone that might know about sire bonds. You can't stay away, what if the sire thing can't be removed, I can't not see you for the rest of my life. I need you Damon, you can't leave me... you promised you'd never leave me again."

Clamping his teeth together he bit back his urge to give in to her, to tell her he'd never leave her, that he loved her. Instead he reminded himself that if what Stefan and Caroline thought was true, it was most likely the sire bond that was making her feel this way and he couldn't let himself give in, not when it wasn't real.

He turned to face her, his best 'who gives a fuck' look on his face.

"Actually Elena, I'm going to new Orleans to see an old girlfriend, one that has actual experience with a sire bond. And No, it wasn't me she was sired to, as much as I might have wished it." he added with a smirk.

"Charlotte and I have a complicated relationship and a lot of history. She was sired, I was hung up on Katherine, it was a regular Romeo and Juliette story. Long story short, I rang her and she can't wait to see me and since I'm obviously not wanted around here, by anyone other than the woman I practically ra..."

"Don't" she spat, racing forward and grabbing his arm. "Don't you even think that, not for a fucking second. What happened last night was because it was always going to happen, not because of some stupid sire bond that we might or might not have." She let go of his arm and ran her hands through her hair, her frustration palpable as she took in his aloof expression.

"For Pete's sake Damon, It nearly happened in Denver while I was still human. If Jeremy hadn't been there we would have ended up in bed that night and it wouldn't have been because Stefan told me to work out what I felt, any more than last night was about the sire bond."

"Yeah right" Damon drawled disbelievingly "I saw how angry and upset you were when you stormed in and asked me if the sire bond thing was true and as for that night, you can't tell me you weren't relieved when Jeremy interrupted us, You all but admitted it at scary Mary's place, less than an hour later. Wake up and smell the blood Elena, It's Stefan, it's always been Stefan and once this little sire bond thing is out of the way, it will be Stefan again."

"Arrrgh, You are so...so.. Jesus, Damon. I was fucking mad because I was worried that you knew about the sire bond, yes. But not for the reasons you were thinking. I was mad that you'd known this could happen and hadn't told me, because you don't lie to me, we don't lie to each other, not when it counts. And yeah a part of me was mad when I thought about the whole blood thing, coz throwing up blood... way gross. But the rest of it, the love part, the sleeping together. Puleeze, give me some freaking credit, It had nothing to do with any sire bond, because I've wanted you since that night in Georgia and..." Seeing Damon's eyes widen with her confession, Elena rewound what she'd just said in her mind.

"Oops" she grinned sheepishly at his raised brows. "I wasn't supposed to let that part slip out until at least our fifth anniversary, coz I knew you'd be all gloaty about it, but I guess that cat is officially out of the bag." she shrugged. "Yes Damon, I Elena Gilbert wanted to jump your bones, even back then." she grinned up at him, a cheeky look on her face.

"You are sort of ridiculously hot, and I was kinda drunk and very mad at Stefan, so of course I entertained the idea. And if Lexi's boyfriend hadn't tried to barbecue your ass, who knows, things might have gotten interesting." she ran her eyes down his body suggestively.

Damon resisted the sudden urge to call Katherine and check on her whereabouts. Choosing to believe instead, that Elena was still reacting to the sire thing. He crossed his arms and tried not to squirm under her heated gaze.

As Elena finished her mental tour down memory lane, she looked back up and met his eyes. Seeing his ridged body language and his stand offish expression, she sighed deeply before shaking her head.

Stupid stubborn idiot.

"God Damon, you're really not getting it are you? I wasn't mad because I'm sired to you, I was mad because I thought you knew and didn't tell me about it. Listen, if it helps any, I spoke to Elijah earlier and he confirmed a few things that I had sort of suspected."

"You did what Elena?" he snarled, his temper barely in check.

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Relax Damon, I didn't talk to him face to face, I rang him on his cell."

"And how may I ask, do you have his cell phone number in the first place, if you didn't see him?" Damon Inquired, his tone dangerously quiet.

Elena shook her head disbelievingly. "Really Damon, you're going to choose now to get all caveman with me." She huffed at his glare and rolled her eyes again.

"Fine, taking a leaf out of your book, long story short. He came over to apologize for Rebecca killing me, gave me his number and told me to call if I ever needed anything, ergo the calling. Now, back to the important part, if that's okay with you." she quirked her own brow and waited.

His eyes narrowed at both her tone and explanation, but he reined his temper in and nodded.

"Okay first up, the hybrid siring is slightly different because of the wolf factor, wolves naturally defer to a pack leader and the sire bond with a hybrid, heightens that aspect and causes them to be naturally obedient." She frowned as she remembered Elijah's explanation.

"Apparently, the hybrid thing makes siring kind of impersonal, not to mention unavoidable and really hard to break, so I'm really glad I'm not a hybrid. Anyway it seems that a vampire siring is a little different. First off, it's really rare, because both the human and the vampire have to have very intense feelings about the other, for it to even work and yes, a vampire sire can influence the sired one, but the newly sired vampire still has free will. They might want to please their sire, but it doesn't make them have to, not like the hybrids."

Elena watched him carefully to see if he was getting what she was trying to tell him.

"So what you're saying is that the animal blood..."

"Was my choice? yes Damon that's exactly what I'm saying." she interrupted in relief .

"I knew that you didn't want me to drink animal blood because you didn't think it was the healthy way to go... so I threw it up. But not because you'd ordered me too, but because I wanted to, mostly because it was kinda gross. And it was the same with everything else, with the exception of one thing."

"And what was that?" he asked warily, her smug look making him careful.

"Elijah said, the only thing both Hybrids and vampires have in common when they are sired, is that the siring cannot and will not make the sired love the sire, no matter what. And considering how much Klaus's hybrids hate him, I'm choosing to believe that Elijah told me the truth about the rest of it as well" she smiled at Damon's annoyed expression before continuing.

"And the interesting part, at least for me, is that in the case of vampires the sired one has to be in love for a bond to even form in the first place." She smirked at his quizzical expression, as he obviously tried to work out if what he was hearing, was what he thought it was.

She took pity on him.

"Just in case you didn't get what that means, because sometimes you can be a little slow." she stifled a giggle at his glare. "It means that for you to be my sire, I'd have to be in love with you, and since I managed to hold down that blood bag, it seems both are true." Her eyes softened and she stepped closer to him.

"I love you Damon, I'm in love with you and I knew after you saved me on the bridge that it was time. You said to me once, that it was right but it wasn't right now. Well now it's both. You are right for me, right now and the sire bond has done nothing but confirm that."

She reached forward and stroked his cheek with her hand, before cupping it between both and looking into his dazed face.

"Elijah, actually congratulated me. He said that siring between vampires was very very rare and that it meant that the two people involved were meant for each other. He said something about the magic not working unless the love on both sides was perfectly balanced. So there you go Damon, apparently we were destined all along. Oh and by the way, you will not be going anywhere with Stefan, especially not to see some skanky ex." She glared at him as she added the last part and Damon just couldn't resist.

He grabbed her hands and pulled them away from his face, trapping them by her sides as he swooped in and kissed her.

She kissed him back with the same desperate desire and it was undoubtedly heading towards a repeat of last night, when they were very rudely wrenched apart by Stefan and his blonde side kick.

"Elena what the hell are you doing?" Shrieked Caroline. "Stefan told you about the sire thing, you need to stay away from Damon until Stefan can fix it." she ordered.

Deliberately placing herself between Elena and Damon; even though Stefan was holding her, his hand clamped around the arm he'd grabbed when he'd pulled her from Damon, Caroline crossed her arms and glared at Damon.

"You stay away from her you bastard. She doesn't love you and after what you did to her last night I hope she never speaks to you again. You're nothing more than a fucking sick..."

"That's enough." Elena yelled shaking off Stefan's grip. Speeding forward until she was in Caroline's personal space she shoved the other girl away from Damon.

"This is none of your fucking business Caroline, so stay the hell out of it and stay the hell away from Damon."

"But Elena he..."

"Shut up Caroline, I don't want to hear it and even if I did, it wouldn't be you I'd be listening to." Elena spat, her temper getting the best of her.

"Hold up Elena, Care's only trying to be a good friend." Stefan interjected in defense of the blond. "We are just trying to make sure you don't do anything else you'll regret."

Damon chuckled at the expression on Elena's face. Oh yeah, this should be real good.

"Oh really," replied Elena her tone saccharine sweet. "well excuse me for not taking the advice of the hypocrite and the control freak. Coz god forbid I should make a decision that wasn't approved by you two." she rolled her eyes and sped over to Damon's side. Grabbing his hand in hers she squeezed it tightly, before turning to face the two vampires she had pissed off.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Caroline snarled. "I'm not the one fucking the bad guy here and you.."

She didn't get a chance to finish as Elena cut her off with a laugh.

"Huh, that's rich, you might not be fucking him...Yet. But I bet it won't be long before Klaus and you are going at it like a couple of high school juniors. Everyone at the pageant could see how hot you were for him, so get off that high horse before someone knocks you off. You can pretend it's an act all you like Caroline Forbes, but I've known you since we were in diapers and I know when you're lying, especially when it's to yourself."

She met Caroline's glare of rage defiantly and it was Caroline that looked away first.

"And you Stefan, you are a control freak. You aren't happy unless everything is exactly the way you think it should be, whether it's the blood lust, your brothers actions, or the way you think I should be. Just because something isn't the way you want it to be Stefan, doesn't mean it needs to be fixed all the time and until you learn that, you're never going to be happy."

She pressed in close to Damon's side and looked up at him.

"Do you want to tell them or should I?"

Damon grinned down at her and squeezed her tighter.

"You seem to be on a roll, carry on by all means. Besides, you're kinda hot when you get all self righteous and that is such a turn on in a woman."

She rolled her eyes at him, but it didn't prevent her from reaching up to lightly kiss him on the lips and whisper that she fully expected him to show her just how turned on he was, as soon as she got rid of Caroline and Stefan.

He nuzzled her ear. "Your wish is my command oh master." he breathed provocatively. And Elena found herself spacing out, as a host of possibilities skated through her mind. Most of which involved Damon on his knees and lot's and lot's of leather.

Catching his knowing look and the accompanying gleam of impatience that went with it, she shook off her distraction and concentrated on the other two vampires in the room.

It had been barely twenty seconds since Damon had given her the okay to tell things her way, but she could see Stefan was right on the verge of one of his 'reasonable' talks.

"You know what, I really can't be bothered with all of this. Stefan, I love Damon and Damon loves me, we are together, deal with it. As for the sire thing, it's only there because we love each other so it's nobody's concern but ours. I don't want to talk about this anymore, because to be frank it's not of either of your business. So I'm just going to say one last thing and then you can leave us alone. If you have any questions go ask Elijah, just like I did."

When Stefan opened his mouth and looked like he was going to speak, she glared.

"Unless you want to see a replay of last night, I suggest you leave right now. I'll tell you one last time...the sire bond is not responsible for the way I feel about Damon and if you don't believe me talk to Elijah, or even Klaus she added with a sniff."

At Caroline's puzzled frown, Elena sighed.

"Yes Caroline, Klaus knew when he hinted about the sire thing, that you would grab hold and run with it, I guess he just can't help messing with us, because, oh let me see... He's freaking Evil. Now get out, both of you and don't come anywhere near either of us, until you guys are on the same page." She made a scooting gesture with her hands and dared them to speak with her glare.

"Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out" quipped Damon with an unrepentant grin.

"And Stefan," he waited until he had his brothers eye. "I told you she didn't need to be fixed, maybe next time you'll listen. But just in case you don't I'm warning you right now, the cure, if we do find it. It will be Elena's decision if she wants' to take it, not mine and definitely not yours. So don't think for one second that I won't kill anybody who even thinks about curing her for her own good, and that includes Klaus, or anybody else that might think they have a say. And that goes twice for you little brother. Her life her decision, make sure you keep that in mind, or you and I will be having a lot more than words."

Stefan's eyes shifted away for a moment and Elena found herself furious as she read the truth of Damon's words in her ex's eyes.

"Stefan, I would listen to Damon if I were you. If you try anything I haven't agreed to, I will get Damon to turn me again and kill you myself, are we clear. I don't know if I want the cure or not, but I do know that it is me that will decide, not you or anyone else. So stay out of it, or you will be sorry."

Her stare was as hard as her voice and Stefan felt the last bit of hope in his heart, wither and die, as he looked into her eyes.

He might not know what was going on here, at least not with the sire bond, but he did know one thing. Elena Gilbert was no longer his concern, she was where she wanted to be, in his brothers arms and nothing he could do was going to change that.

He nodded once to Damon and ushered a still fuming Caroline from the room. He'd speak to Elijah and if it was the way it looked, then he would do the right thing and get out of town.

Maybe he could undagger Rebecca and get her to go with him. Hmm, he'd have to think on that.

The door clicked shut and Damon swept her up against him.

"So where were we before we were so rudely interrupted."

"Mmmm" Elena murmured nuzzling his neck "How about you refresh my memory."

And reaching down to claim her lips with his own...he did just that.

The end.


End file.
